A Joyful Thanksgiving!

 Our God is a good God. My day began with some tears. But it's ended with much joy.

 I struggled through the morning, praying for joy... It is so hard being away from family, but I could feel the love and prayers from friends and family. I talked with my sister-in-law on the phone, enjoyed the beautiful blue-sky day with my daughter, and skyped my sister by heart. And somewhere along the way, God gave joy.

By the time Hadassah woke from a long afternoon nap, I was singing silly songs and dancing for her just because I felt so light-hearted. Joyful.

We went for a walk when Ryan got home from work, and saw the most amazing sky. We talked about the day, and it was just so wonderful to be a family. And it's so incredible being married to my best friend!

As I got supper on the table, I was singing... "You turned my mourning into dancing, put off my rags and clothed me with gladness; my heart will sing and not be silent - I'll sing and not be silent. Oh Lord, my God, I will give thanks to You forever..."

I made chicken pot pie soup for supper, since the big turkey meal will happen on Saturday. The stuff is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Seemed to be a good combination of Thanksgiving ingredients, without all the work (it just takes about 20 minutes to make!). And, I'd saved two pieces of pumpkin pie from my "test" pie last weekend (okay, I just wanted an excuse to make more pie!) so in the end, it tasted like Thanksgiving. After the soup and the pie, Ryan said it felt like his taste buds had "one amazing explosion after another." That's good enough for me. :)

Hadassah colored her turkey hand, and we made ours together, to prepare examples for our Saturday group craft.

And, to top it all off, the internet has worked all day! I was able to finish a Christmas present photo project that I'd tried to do at least 7 times only to have it fail in the upload process, even if I left it alone and didn't do anything else all day. But it's done! It worked! Wow!! We serve an awesome God.

I didn't "need" these blessings. I wanted to be thankful even if it meant tears all day. But, God has given me little gifts that show me tangibly how much I am loved. What an amazing Father we have!

Happy Thanksgiving from one continent to another! :)